Wet days perk up forest fire staff

Rain may wash out the best-laid vacation plans, but it provides a welcome respite against provincial forest fires.

“We have had scattered rain all over the province, some good soaks in places,” said Jim Rudderham, supervisor of wildfire management at the Natural Resources Department.

“I have to remind people that the woods were very dry to start with. This rain really took the pressure off for a week, but it’s not going to take more than two or three days before we start to build back up again.”

The department’s fire weather map showed Wednesday afternoon that the fire index for all of mainland Nova Scotia and eastern Cape Breton was low. Much of southern Cape Breton had a moderate reading and the fire index in northern Cape Breton was still high.

“It’s supposed to be nice and beautiful again,” Rudderham said of the weekend weather forecast. “They are still calling for some more rain in the province, and we’ll have to wait and see how much we actually get. That’s a big key, and high humidity helps us, too. High humidity is almost the same as rain.”

Warming weekend trends will likely push much of the province back into high and very high ratings for fires by Sunday or Monday, he said.

Rudderham warned that anyone who plans any kind of an outdoor fire should be extremely careful and also check the burn-safe map at novascotia.ca/burnsafe.

Surface fuels such as pine needles and small twigs dry quickly and burn easily, he said.

“We have intermediate fuels under that, and the ground can also be very dry, and these fires can burn really deep and get very stubborn and hard to put out.

“A nice day of steady rain will certainly take the edge off. But, to get us back to the ground and all the fuels getting nicely soaked, I’d love to see a few days of steady rain.”

This province’s forest fire problems pale in comparison with the Northwest Territories, where it was reported early Wednesday morning that 160 fires are burning.

Kara McCurdy, a department wildfire prevention officer in Shubenacadie, touched down in Yellowknife late Tuesday night, along with three other Nova Scotia officers and four from New Brunswick.

“When we flew in, it was really hazy and smoky,” McCurdy said by cellphone Wednesday morning. “The smell of smoke is bad, really bad.”

The eight Atlantic wildfire prevention personnel were to be deployed in the field later Wednesday.

“We’re going out today, but we’re not really sure where we’re going,” said McCurdy, who expects to be in the region for a week or two.

According to a Canadian Press report, there were many areas that could use their help.

Environment Canada had issued a high health-risk warning for Yellowknife and surrounding areas because of heavy smoke, suggesting the general population reduce strenuous outdoor activities and urging children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions to take extra precautions.

A cold front expected to move across the region late Wednesday would likely clear some of the smoke.

The Canadian Press reported that burning fires were causing power outages, road closures and the destruction of fibre op cables but weren’t threatening any additional homes and there were no plans for evacuations.